Ghaziabad court shuts after protests over Ambedkar statue

IANSGhaziabadThe Ghaziabad court was shut on Tuesday following noisy protests by a section of lawyers protesting against the removal by police of a statue of Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar from the court compound. The court's functioning came to a halt as the deployment of security forces was so massive that litigants were sent back from the main gate. A majority of Dalit lawyers and several members of the public placed an Ambedkar photo at the site where the statue stood and staged a demonstration, said Surendra Rathi, a former President of the Ghaziabad Bar Association. Police said that on the night of December 31 some members of the Bar Association installed the statue, taking other lawyers by surprise when the court opened on January 1.